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ADDRESS 



DELIVERED BEFORE THE 



AMERICAN WHIG AND CLIOSOPIIIC SOCIETIES. 



or the 



COLLEGE OF NE\V JERSEY. 



JUNE 24th, 1851. 



BY THE 

Hon. ABRAHAM W. VENABLE. 




Jprimeton, 3X. 1.: 

PRINTED BY J. T. ROBINSON. 



1851. 



IS , 



Extract from the Minutes of the Cliosophic Society, June 24th, 1851. 

Resolved, that a committee of three be appointed to tender 
the thanks of the Society to the Hon. A. W. Venable, for 
his able and appropriate address delivered before the Ameri- 
can Whig and Cliosophic Societies on yesterday ; and to re- 
quest a copy of the same for publication. 

a. Mcdonald, ) 

J. T. DUFFIELD, V Committee. 
H. G. HALL, J 



From the Minutes of the American Whig Society, June 25th, 1851. 
That the thanks of this Society be respectfully tendered to 
the Hon. A. W. Venable, for his eloquent address, and that 
a Committee be appointed to request a copy of the same for 

publication. 

R. S. McCULLOH,) 

F. L. R. KING, V Committee. 

J. T. JONES. J 



ADDRESS. 



Gentlemen of the American Whig and Cliosophic 

Societies : 

The claims of the world upon the citizen-scholar, 
the educated man, is my subject. The occasion, as 
well as the audience, renders it peculiarly appropriate. 
This is no mere gala-day ; neither should it be an 
empty and formal celebration of an anniversary, a 
simple demonstration of respect for a time-honored 
usage. It should be an occasion for the renewal of 
our obligations to be useful to our generation, an ac- 
cumulation of our offerings to the passing age, as well 
as to posterity. Their claims are founded in justice ; 
to acknowledge them is duty, to repudiate them is 
criminal. " No man liveth to himself." None can 
divest themselves of the relations arising out of their 
social constitution ; neither can any of us withhold 
our efforts to increase the stores of knowledge, or to 
advance the enterprise of civilization, without incur- 
ring the censure of the living and dishonoring the 
memory of the dead. If we consider the peculiar 
constitution, intellectual, moral and physical, which 



6 

man received from Ills great Creator, it would be 
nothing less than the perversion of gifts, and the 
neglect of duty. The principle of individuality pre- 
pares him for self-preservation, and endows him with 
all the impulses which concentrate his energies and 
call forth his efforts to secure his comfort and his 
safety. He was also supplied with those sensibilities 
which unite him with his race, which induce him to 
seek associations with them, from which the highest 
and most exquisite enjoyments of which he is suscep- 
tible are derived, and to which all the enduring 
improvements, as well as the embellishments of human 
character, must be referred. This is the social prin- 
ciple, a combination of intellectual power, moral 
feeling and physical instinct. In these two principles 
originate all that is valuable and ornamental, as well 
as all that is odious and depraved, in the character of 
man. Individuality in excess is cold selfishness, a 
turning in' upon the heart of all the fountains of 
social feeling, until the sensibilities perish in the 
stagnant pool, from which no healthful and refreshing 
streams flow out. The social feeling in excess is 
reckless prodigality, the neglect of individual duty, 
and the unwise and wasteful expenditure of the 
elements of high civilization. Individuality, modified 
by the social principle, promotes industry, concentrates 
power and accumulates wealth ; thus combining all 
the influences indispensable to the fullest development 
of human capacity, as well as the highest attainments 
of human happiness. It suggests, as well as secures 



safety to the persons and property which constitute 
social organization. These principles, by mutual 
reaction, restrain the excesses of the one, and modify 
the sternness of the other ; a process, by which the 
vices, that deform the character and disturb the 
peace of society, are divested of their odious aspect, 
and stand forth, in bold relief, acknowledged virtues, 
the sources of general comfort and prosperity k Thus, 
by the conditions of our creation, we are made mem- 
bers of the great family of men, and whilst all others 
are under obligations to promote our good, we are 
equally bound to them for the performance of a 
similar duty. We admire the harmonious action of 
these apparently opposing principles, in the organiza- 
tion of communities, resulting in the greatest good, 
as we look with wonder at the varied rays of the 
rainbow, by a law of their nature " softly blending 
every color into one." 

But whilst admiring, let us ask what is our personal 
interest in this subject? In what way are the res- 
ponsibilities of our situation to be met, and the 
legitimate claims of our fellow men upon us to be 
discharged? These are grave inquiries and imply 
serious duties. It becomes us honestly to seek for 
the truth and, having found it, to obey its directions. 

The first duty of the citizen-scholar, is to add to 
the stores of knowledge, to avail himself of all that 
has been accumulated, to combine the discoveries of 
the past with the improvements of the present, to 
concentrate the ravs of intellectual light for the 



illustration of truth, and to remit to posterity a 
legacy of practical wisdom : to add to the empire of 
Science, which is knowledge founded on demonstra- 
tion and reduced to certainty: to encourage and 
cherish the efforts of Art, the great agent in all human 
progress, the production of human ingenuity, as 
contradistinguished from natural causes, the exhibi- 
tion of the inventive faculty, a combination of mental 
skill, and physical power. All of the present, and 
much of the past is our own. Memory, the con- 
sciousness of that which has gone, like a picture 
gallery, places before us the experience and wisdom 
of our predecessors, as well as their folly and their 
crimes. It arrays facts unconnected with associations 
and prejudices, which too often mislead. The light 
of reason discovers the truth, and the judgment 
guides the mind to proper conclusions. With the 
duties of the present, and the learning of the past, 
the educated man cannot be indifferent to his obliga- 
tions to posterity without justly incurring censure. 
The waste of mental culture in useless investigations, 
or in defence of error, or the sordid avarice which 
would turn in upon the individual mind, the riches 
acquired by industrious application, are infinitely 
more criminal in the intellectual than in the social 
world. The money of the spendthrift, after passing 
from his possession, performs its proper functions in 
the hands of succeeding owners ; the hoards of the 
miser, wrested from his grasp by the hand of death, 
are distributed to others who use them : whilst the 



9 

ingenious, and it may be able defence of error, or the 
literary trifling, which, to say the least, is mental 
dissipation, like counterfeit coin is worthless in itself, 
and mischievous in its circulation ; and death over- 
takes the literary miser with a menstruum that 
dissolves all his jewels, and pours them into his grave, 
as lifeless as his sensibilities, and as cold as his heart : 
a practical demonstration of the mischievous and the 
useless ; a blot and a blank upon the page of history. 
The high duty of the scholar is industriously to 
elaborate truth. He should collect and preserve the 
scattered gems which he finds in his path. He should 
cultivate the flowers of nature, as assiduously as he 
accumulates its treasures. The certainties of Science, 
he should deliver over to her handmaiden, Art, to 
aid in those combinations, which both increase the 
power, and add incalculably to the comfort and hap- 
piness of man. His aim should be Truth, lovely for 
its own sake, too sacred to be trifled with, the only 
source of improvement, the foundation of all that is 
valuable. No toleration should be given to error, for 
error never can be harmless. It is cumulative in its 
nature, and although it may not entirely disarm, 
uniformly diminishes the force of truth. The at- 
tainments of the age are referable to the refutation 
of a few errors in Chemistry and other branches of 
physical science, which taken alone, would not seem 
capable of arresting the progress of philosophical 
research. But they stood in the way, like the pebble 
which dried up the stream, by obstructing and pre- 



10 

venting its flow from the fountain. Art was left to 
work alone, with a few facts ascertained by observa- 
tion ; for Science,, groping in error, could not come to 
her aid with the laws, which by their operation pro- 
duced those facts. The field of enterprise was nar- 
rowed down into a few incidents, instead of great 
general laws. Error stood in the gate with a drawn 
sword, and excluded all who desired to enter, until 
overcome and displaced by the power of Truth. The 
great practical utilitarianism of the present age is 
the result of the successful efforts of the friends of 
Truth, to displace and explode errors which in former 
times degraded physical science into alchemy, astrol- 
ogy and necromancy. 

The power of truth is also cumulative. Its con- 
quests are permanent, its triumphs enduring. Error 
distorts the mental vision, contracts the horizon of 
observation, and finally sinks into absolute darkness. 
Truth rises with the light, enlarges its horizon with 
its development, and with an eye which perceives 
more clearly, as the brightness is more intense, ap- 
prehends and appropriates all within the scope of its 
perception. It is from this cause that we find our- 
selves surrounded by such remarkable circumstances. 
The first developments of scientific truth, like steps 
cut in a mountain of adamant, were the fruits of 
intense and unassisted labor ; each law of physical 
Science was a detached principle, which had attracted 
the inquirer ; like the casual ray of light, reflected 
from the diamond and falling upon the eye of one 



11 

accidentally passing across its direction, it caused 
him to pause, to catch the ray again, and to follow its 
guidance to the jewel. The diamond was found, 
before the geological laws regulating its location were 
determined ; the locality disclosed those laws, and 
couducted future researches to successful results. 
Each law of science discovered, carved out another 
step on the mountain's adamantine face, leaving it easy 
of access to those who came after. Each step en- 
larged the horizon, and gave new subjects of observa- 
tion, a place to stand upon and cut still another step. 
Step after step has been hewn out ; one after another 
has ascended to renew observations, and continue the 
work, until objects which, some time since, seemed 
scarcely perceptible by the telescope, are brought to 
actual inspection. He, who was once only familiar 
with the valley, now ascends the mountain side, to 
survey the rich and varied scene which spreads out 
before his view. The art of printing, and the gener- 
osity peculiar to intellectual and scientific attainments, 
forbid and prevent the obliteration of what has been 
achieved. In geometrical progression, the discoveries 
of science are combined, manipulated, and applied by 
art ; until it is almost as unphilosophical to be in- 
credulous, as it used to be esteemed unwise to believe. 
With a rapidity unequalled, discoveries burst upon us, 
scarcely announced before realized by experiments, 
until we have ceased to express astonishment at 
suggestions, which a few years since would have 
scarcely caused an inquiry, or perhaps excited a smile. 



12 

The horizon of observation is extending. Truth rises 
on an untiring wing. Free views of the dignity of 
human nature are adopted, and the claims of the 
world upon the citizen-scholar, the educated man, 
promise to be realized. 

This is an obligation, which attaches to you, as 
members of the great literary commonwealth. The 
world requires a return for the privileges enjoyed by 
you ; it will be your honor to acknowledge the claim, 
and satisfy the demand. 

Let no one suppose that he can escape the respon- 
sibility, by concluding that he is not called to the 
high investigations of Philosophy, that an humble 
and more secluded walk in life is for him. Admit 
this to be so, it should be remembered, that the ac- 
cumulation of the learning of the world, like its 
wealth, is from minute beginnings. All truth is 
valuable, and every occupation in life may lead to its 
development. The grains of gold washed from the 
sand, are as pure and as precious, as any equal amount 
found in massive pieces in the earth. The laws of 
nature, the benevolence of the Creator, shine out as 
brightly in the blade of grass, as in the most stately 
tree ; in the opening of the smallest bud, as in per- 
fection of the richest flower ; in the economy of the 
minutest insect, or smallest reptile, as in that of the 
eagle or the elephant ; in the dew-drop as in the 
shower ; in the trickling rill, as in the majestic river. 
The operations of the laws of nature are uniform ; 
whether they relate to things small or great ; the 



inquirer may detect them as readily in the one as in 
the other ; and the most important contributions to 
scientific truth, the richest gifts to art, have been 
received from those whose minds have been led to 
discoveries, by observations made whilst engaged in 
the ordinary pursuits of life. These are unostenta- 
tious, but inestimable gifts into the treasury, like 
the widow's mite, given freely and from the highest 
motives. Should you do all in your power for the 
increase of knowledge, you will have discharged your 
duty ; less than this should not be your aim. 

But whilst it is incumbent on you to make positive 
additions to the amount of knowledge, you are equally 
bound to expose error, and aid in the formation of 
sound public opinion. What are called popular errors 
have always been the most serious obstacles to the 
progress of discovery, and the increase of knowledge. 
Proverbs, dogmas, and certain pithy sayings, have 
often paralyzed the energies of the inquirer ; and, when 
uttered by those who add age and experience to igno- 
rance and folly, they produce most mischievous results, 
They prevent the progress of discovery, by limiting 
the field of research. Vain and conceited men, as 
well as some who are better disposed, have always 
been the foremost in this kind of opposition to truth. 
Possessing some knowledge, and but little wisdom, 
they have not learned the important lesson, that he 
who relies exclusively upon his own learning or ex- 
perience, can never make extensive acquirement. 
Human life is so short, and the means of observation 



14 

with any individual are so limited, that a great deal can- 
not be usually effected by such isolated and unassisted 
efforts. It is our duty, as well as our privilege, to 
take possession of the literary and philosophical 
wealth of our predecessors ; to examine the titles by 
which it is held, and to ascertain the real value at 
which it should be estimated; to assay the coin, 
which has descended to us by inheritance ; to purify 
it from alloy, and to discard all that is spurious. 
Nothing should be rejected because it is old ; or re- 
garded with suspicion, because it is new. A mere 
reverence for antiquity should not induce us to 
underrate that which modern researches has added 
to the resources of science and of art. It is no 
disparagement to the acuteness or the learning of 
Aristotle or Archimedes, that Bacon, Newton, Watt 
and Fulton, have accomplished much that they left 
undone. It would be strange, if we should close our 
eyes upon the wonders disclosed by Morse in the 
electric telegraph, because Franklin was ignorant of 
this undiscovered secret. This would be as unwise 
in the scholar, as it would be unpatriotic in us, 
who enjoy the ease, luxury and refinements of the 
present day, to forget our hardy ancestors; who, by a 
successful conflict with the savage, the forest and the 
elements, subdued a wilderness, and gave it to us for 
a home. The traveller would not refuse to be re- 
freshed by water from a solitary well, in the desert, 
if ignorant of the motives which induced those who 
dug it to select that particular location. Neither 



15 

would he denounce the enterprise of preparing others 
in the vicinity, because preceding generations had 
neglected to do so. The scholar should thankfully 
receive all of truth, and all of the useful, which has 
been discovered or effected by those who have gone 
before him, and seek to avoid their errors, in the 
appropriation of their work to the interests of the 
age in which he lives. It would appear strange that 
such a suggestion should be needed, but we are often 
admonished of the propriety of watchfulness against 
the effect of popular errors on the mind. The most 
brilliant discoveries of modern times were seen, in the 
distance, centuries ago ; and the principles upon which 
they depend were strongly indicated ; but the shackles 
of false philosophy trammelled the inquirer, and often 
sheer mental timidity prevented their development. 
The suggestions, however, of master minds, left indi- 
cations on record; and these have been pursued to 
consummations which they merely supposed to be 
possible. The startling discoveries of Galileo operated 
alike upon some, who, supposing themselves in pos- 
session of all real knowledge, regarded him as an 
innovator and intruder, and on many others, who 
apprehending injury to the cause of revealed religion, 
deemed him an infidel. Thus wicked and designing 
men originated, and the ignorant, but well disposed, 
adopted and gave influence to an error, which has 
been in all time most mischievous in its effects on 
the popular mind, namely : " That freedom of inquiry 
may result in injury to Truth" Men are taught to 



16 

worship the temple instead of him, who sanctifies the 
temple. They act as if their veneration gave dig- 
nity to Truth, forgetting that truth confers dignity 
on all who venerate it. Truth invites, never avoids 
investigations. The rocky shore does not retire from 
the approaching wave, but meets its stroke, and 
retains its position. The tide washes the face of the 
mountain, and retires ; the storm may force it higher 
upon its side, but can neither remove nor destroy it, 
for it rests upon the foundation of the very basin in 
which the ocean floats. Truth is always developed 
by the most searching scrutiny. No one truth can 
be opposed to another ; composed of simple elements, 
it must be consistent with itself, and wherever there 
is an apparent conflict, it is because error has intruded 
itself into the array, and so presented facts, that they 
have been referred to causes which have not produced 
them. Principles are nothing but great facts, the 
materials with which reason operates to illustrate 
Truth. The relations of these facts to each other, 
and their operation when brought into combination, 
the results which are produced, and the certainties 
which are attained, all taken together constitute 
Philosophy, scientific knowledge, the ascertained laws 
of nature. These subjects of demonstrative certainty 
include much, but not all of the vast field before us 
for investigation. New facts are continually discovered, 
but their relations to other facts are not certainly 
ascertained. Being still subjects of speculation, they 
add to the amount of knowledge, and are preparing 



17 

the way for further advancements of science. They 
furnish a first meridian, from which calculations may 
safely commence, and in the present state of civiliza- 
tion can never be lost to mankind. Science and art 
hold their titles by more enduring evidences than the 
perishable devices by which men seek to perpetuate 
their claims to estates. Ee volution, corruption, fraud, 
or the brute force of conquest, overthrow and destroy 
the one, whilst the claims of the other are inscribed 
on the marble and the granite, on the Temple and the 
Pyramid. The march of invaders, or the extermina- 
tion of the possessors, transfers the title of property, 
and the dominion of the soil ; but the achievements 
of intellect and genius, have survived the inroads of 
barbarism, the fury of bigotry, the invasion of the 
sands of the desert, as well as the silent decay of 
time. The butcher, whose name would pollute the 
page of history, but for a popular error which overrates 
military renown and underrates all that is truly 
valuable to man, has cursed and scourged his gener- 
ation, and sunk into forgetfulness ; his wealth and 
his honors live only in tradition ; while there is 
scarcely a comfort, a luxury, or an application of the 
principles of science to the practical purposes of civil- 
ized life, which is not clue chiefly to the unobtrusive 
and often unknown scholar. His name may be for- 
gotten, but his work remains. The benefactor of his 
race leaving the impression of his mind upon the gen- 
erations who succeed him, has achieved the highest 
purpose of the good and the great ; he has done good. 



18 

he has added to the stock of knowledge and happi- 
ness ; and curtailed instead of increasing the sorrows 
of his race. Such are the claims of scientific practical 
truth. Such are the evidences that it avoids no 
scrutiny, shrinks from no investigation ; enduring in 
its nature, it is unmoved, although subjected to con- 
stant assaults ; progressive in its operations, although 
beset by enemies ; sure of its conquests, because they 
are self-protecting. Evidences which shall remain 
until time shall destroy the monuments of the past, 
and the present, until civilization shall change its 
direction, and turn towards barbarism. 

We need not, therefore, be concerned lest the dis- 
coveries of science should unsettle or destroy anything 
that is true. There is no ground for the fears which 
have recently seized many good men, lest the specula- 
tions of ethnologists, or the lucubrations of antiquari- 
an travellers, should render doubtful the revealed, the 
inspired history of the human race. If the Bible 
cannot withstand such scrutiny, it is unworthy of our 
faith. Purporting to be but the history of the crea- 
tion, the fall, and the redemption of man, it is a sys- 
tem neither of philosophy nor of astronomy. It re- 
cords facts, with the brevity, simplicity and dignity 
of Truth, and all the facts necessary for a perfect il- 
lustration of the purpose for which it was written. 
All on either side of this, is left for human intellect 
to examine and unfold ; to bring the result to the 
landmarks which inspiration has established, as a 
test of the truth or falsehood of its conclusions. De- 



19 

tached facts of doubtful dates, and of unknown 
connection with other facts, may at first seem incon- 
sistent with each other, but when the hiatus is filled, 
all is consistent, all is explained. No man who 
properly reverences revealed truth can fear the effect 
of disquisitions upon the unity of the human race, or 
tremble for the consequences to scripture history, or 
scripture chronology, from the revelations made by an- 
tiquaries, whose witnesses are mummies rolled in pitchy 
garments, and whose records are obscure hieroglyphics 
faintly traced on the bark of trees. It is desirable 
that these investigations should be made without 
reference to Bible history. In the end, the whole 
truth will but confirm it, and afford that support 
which the testimony of unwilling witnesses always 
gives. True science shines with reflected light, and 
its lustre is bright but mild, intense, but not painful. 
The rays which illuminate, are from the sources of 
truth ; and it often bows in adoration, to catch more 
and brighter beams ; it comes with all its conquests, 
and places its honors where they alone are due, 
owning that name at which every knee must bow. 
Infidel science mingles with the light, that which comes 
from sparks " of its own kindling;" it has long main- 
tained a controversy with revealed truth ; materialism 
and rationalism, its two phases, as old as the first 
transgression, have, through all ages given complexion 
to the history of man. The one gross, the other more 
refined, each in its turn has been antagonistic to the 
self-denying, chastening system, taught by revelation. 



20 

In all their mutations, it is easy to perceive the 
fundamental error of each ; conscience announces 
human responsibility to our Creator, and experience 
denies the perfectibility of human nature. As distinct 
systems, each has been a formidable foe to the progress 
of truth. When exposed, the peculiarities of each 
have been combined, and the elements being irrecon- 
cileable, are self-destroying; a hybrid is produced, 
incapable of continuing its race. 

There is then nothing to be feared from learning, 
knowledge, science, — No! in the conflict between 
truth and infidelity, the victory must be with Truth. 
In whatever form the assailant may come, his dyiug 
exclamation will but re-echo that of the royal apostate, 
% Thou hast conquered, Galilean." 

I have been led to these remarks by some striking 
developments, which are now in progress. There is 
a peculiar character manifested in the literature, as 
well as the philosophy, of the present time, which is 
worthy of particular consideration. Errors have, in 
a great measure, controlled the popular mind; and 
we are perceiving the consequences in the state of 
public opinion. The light and frivolous productions, 
which teem from the press, costing but little thought 
in their creation, and requiring as little in their 
perusal, have debauched the public taste, and created 
a morbid appetite for mere reading. It is erroneously 
supposed, that mental discipline and proper education 
are to be attained by the quantity which is read, the 
mass of current literature which is consumed. Intel- 



21 

lectual indigestion and mental dissipation are the 
consequence ; the idea has usurped the place of the 
substantial, and the stern realities of life are regarded 
as either too common-place to attract interest, or 
unworthy of the attention of refined and cultivated 
minds. Much of the philosophy of the times has 
partaken of the same character; the two classes of 
writers catering to the same corrupted taste. A kind 
of transcendental theorising, a sentimental rational- 
ism, has filled the world with associations and sects, 
whose vagaries are well calculated to excite appre- 
hensions with all who desire the permanence of our 
institutions, or the best interests of mankind. This 
evil originated in improper views of education, an 1 
the manner in which it should be conducted. Those 
educated according to such erroneous doctrines, extend 
the mischief incalculably by their influence, because 
in their turn they become instructors of others. Here, 
as in other instances, mere learning has been mistaken 
for science, the accumulation of ideas for education. 
Minds, trained to the consideration of detached truths, 
without reference to their connection with, or depen- 
dence upon, other truths, have been infected with 
monomania ; and the whole host of isms, which have 
been sprung upon us, manifest the extent as well as 
the character of the evil. A hasty perusal of the 
various schemes for education, would satisfy any 
judicious thinker of the truth of their suggestions. 
It is assumed, and granted, that education is desira_ 
ble, but it should be proper education. Correct mental 



22 

discipline, instruction not as to words but as to things. 
Words should be regarded only as the signs of things. 
Facts and principles ought to be impressed upon the 
memory, the storehouse from which reason draws its 
choicest treasures. I would not be understood to ap- 
prove of a system of education which seeks to make 
a community of philosophers, a nation of savans ; 
neither have I adopted that educational fanaticism, 
which is restless, unless every mind in the country is 
cultivated to its full capacity of acquiring knowledge. 
For this literary Fourierism, I have no greater tolera- 
tion, than for the same system applied to society. 
Whilst every good man ought to endeavor to place 
the means of elementary instruction, within the reach 
of the youth of the country, I utterly dissent from 
the propriety of making instruction an eleemosynary 
institution. I cannot approve of a policy which 
authorises a state to superintend and control the 
education of youth, nor do I perceive the wisdom of 
making them scholars by statute, or philosophers by 
act of Assembly. 

Janissaries, whether military or literary, add nothing 
to the safety of the rights of the people ; in any crisis 
they would lean to the power that fed them. Educa- 
tion is a high privilege; knowledge is power, and like 
every other advantage in social life, it ought to require 
virtuous efforts to enjoy the one, or to wield the other. 
The necessities of human life are indispensable to the 
perfection of human character, and we are so con- 
stituted, that those things which cost nothing, are 



23 

usually estimated accordingly. It will add nothing 
to the valuable organization of society, to place the 
formation of public morals or public opinion in the 
control of the government. According to the theory,, 
as well as the practice, of our institutions, power is 
the prize in a party struggle. Those who obtain it,, 
seek to perpetuate its possession, by influences upon 
the popular mind. The government which directs 
the details of education will always be sufficiently 
sagacious, to secure those who hold their opinions as 
directors of the instruction of youth. Those agents 
select teachers, who indoctrinate pupils, imbue their 
minds with the fanaticism and monomania which 
prevail with themselves; inspire them with the 
belief, that progress in a given direction, is the only 
way to the perfection of human character, and the 
advancement of human right ; and thus surround the 
poicers that be with a force so potent for evil, that the 
general safety forbids its existence. It is no more a 
primary duty of government to educate its citizens in 
literature and philosophy, than to furnish them labor, 
to instruct them in mechanical trades, or to give 
direction to individual industry. The exercise of 
either power is tyrannical, because it operates unequal- 
ly. The former is the most mischievous because it 
places a more efficient engine in the hands of the 
government. The Jesuit has never asked for more 
than the schools of a country, to dictate the religion 
and the government of the people. The Fourierite, 
the Mormon, and the Socialist, will do the same ; and 



24 

there is no counteracting agency, beside the practical 
good sense of individuals ; who, rightly appreciating 
its value, are willing to pay the price of sound educa- 
tion acquired under their observation and control. 
This they may successfully do, unless the civil power 
monopolizes all the resources of instruction, and thus 
effectually destroys conservative competition. 

The simple elements of education are within the 
reach of most virtuous and industrious persons, and 
those inclined to enconnter the labor of thorough, 
mental cultivation, will usually accomplish for them- 
selves all that is necessary. Superficial attainments 
are by no means valuable, as to their effect on either 
social relations or individual happiness. It is true 
that " a little learning is a dangerous thing ;" it 
gives an impulsive, as well as unsteady action, to the 
public mind ; and, like the stimulant which excites 
nervous sensibility, without a permanent increase of 
muscular power, is productive of no salutary result. 
In the mental twilight, subjects are perceived out of 
their fair proportions, principles are mistaken or 
misapplied, and the skilful and designing are enabled 
to concentrate a most dangerous force. Men are 
taught to reason in the circumference, and not from 
the centre. They may accidentally take a right 
position, but it is lost as soon as attained. It is no 
answer to this objection, that the evil will be removed 
by thoroughly educating the whole community. This 
necessarily implies the propriety of legislative coercion. 
The thing is impossible, and not desirable if it were 



25 

• 

attainable. The physical and moral condition of men 

is the same, despite of science, learning, art, manufac- 
tures, commerce and improvements, or even forms of 
government. Those superior in natural powers, or 
physical endowments, always have controlled, and 
always must control, the less favored in those quali- 
fications. This is a law of matter, as well as of mind. 
Nothing can be so cone. . ructed, but that it must have 
a bottom and a top. There must be something to be 
moved, as well as a motive power. Intellectual su- 
periority operates on the minds of men, just as 
physical force impels the motions of matter. Nor 
does this exclude the idea of liberty and equality. 
For liberty is the equality of rights, not of condition; 
condition is the result of progress, and is an artificial 
element, developed by social relations. The wants, as 
well as the adaptation of the faculties of men to 
various pursuits, render a correspondent variety of 
training indispensable ; and the whole error concerning 
the peculiar dignity of scientific and purely intellec- 
tual pursuits arises from underrating other employ- 
ments. An aristocracy is created upon a mere 
speculative assumption of superiority, and men are 
taught to look to the acquisition of knowledge by the 
process of literary education, as an end, and not as a 
means. Mechanical and agricultural labor are under- 
rated, and persons engaged in certain professions, 
esteemed honorable or literary, are placed greatly in 
advance of those, who are more usefully employed, 
whether we estimate the effect of their labor on indi- 



26 

vidual comfort, or national wealth. It is a mistake 
that the scholar in his study, the statesman in his 
avocation, the professional man in his employment, 
the author at his pen, or the officer in military com- 
mand, are either more useful, more honorable, or 
fulfilling a higher calling, than those whose mechani- 
cal skill, or agricultural enterprise, are giving the chief 
impulse to the work of human civilization. The 
pressure and universality of human wants demand 
that such a portion of labor should be constantly 
employed for their relief, as to render it impossible 
for the general application of so much time, as is 
requisite for high scientific attainments, or literary 
acquisition with the masses. He is a patriot, and a 
well disciplined man, who effects the greatest good to 
his generation by virtuous industry, under the direc- 
tion of a mind, fired in the purpose of promoting 
truth. And when we remember that all the luxury, 
elegance and comfort, which we possess, is referable 
to mechanical and agricultural labor, we should put 
honor upon those employments which are most fruit- 
ful in blessings. The civilized world are now looking 
on with profound interest, at the most remarkable 
exhibition of the trophies of mechanical skill and 
agricultural industry, which has ever been made in 
the history of man. For once, we have forgotten 
the trappings of military heroes, whose honors dyed 
in blood, were purchased by groans, and tears, and 
the anguish of broken hearts ; we have overlooked 
the wonders of abstract science, the fame of authors, 



27 

and the reputation of statesmen; the lawn, the 
ermine, and the gown, titles of nobility, and badges 
of distinction, all pale before the wonders of mechan- 
ical creation, and the fruits of the earth perfected by the 
farmer's skill. It is a proud day for them ; the world 
underwrites their patent of nobility, and owns its 
allegiance to them as the dispensers of unmixed good. 
Literature, science, philosophy, wealth and power, 
unite in an intense curiosity to examine, and to learn 
at the " World's Fair," in London, what progress 
labor, honorable and ingenious labor, has made in 
promoting the high interests of our race. It is right 
that it should be so. The achievements of the ar- 
chitect and the sculptor are their temples and statues ; 
the artist, catching nature's fleeting beauties, trans- 
fers the landscape to the canvass, or fixes the 
features of the great and good, so as to make them 
present to all after times. The building of houses for 
men to dwell in, and all the innumerable appliances 
by which the comforts as well • as the refinements of 
social life are attained, the means of communication 
by which mankind are brought into association, and 
the interchange of the productions of the physical, as 
well as the intellectual world, are the boon which 
mechanical labor bestows upon man. To it the 
astronomer is indebted for the telescope by which he 
unfolds the wonders of the heavens; the naturalist 
and the chemist, for all the means of development 
which their pursuits demand. By it the mineral, 
the vegetable, and the animal world are subsidized to 



28 

produce the useful and the ornamental. In the 
wonderful results of mechanical labor, we perceive 
the clearest demonstrations of the great truth, that 
with reason, God gave to man dominion over the 
creatures : all creation has felt the power, and in its ac- 
commodation to his purposes has owned that dominion. 
The marble, the granite, the forest and the mine, are 
the store-houses from which mechanical labor and 
ingenuity have drawn their materials. Agricultural 
industry, walking side by side in all its progress, 
receiving improved implements, and labor-saving ex- 
pedients, has caused the earth to smile in plenty, and 
the heart of man to rejoice in abundance. In this 
peaceful march, streams have gushed out in the de- 
sert, and the solitary place has been glad for them. 
The world's fair now in progress is no collection of 
military heroes, enthroned on pyramids of human 
skulls, assembled to recount scenes of butchery and 
bloodshed ; no congress of political economists and 
statesmen to ascertain how much may yet be wrung 
by taxes from a burdened and down-trodden people, 
or what is the point of oppression which may be 
approached without incurring the hazard of rebellious 
uprising; no council of ecclesiastical dignitaries to 
devise means of " lording it" over men's consciences. 
It is no assembly of wild fanatics and canting hypo- 
crites, proposing to speak for mankind in matters of 
morals, politics and religion. It is the spontaneous 
acknowledgement of the civilized world, that all 
avocations are indeed secondary to those two great 



29 

and leading ones, which employ mechanical and ag- 
ricultural labor. It will do much to explode the 
popular error, which has heretofore degraded them, 
and whilst I have with pain observed authors and 
philosophers, whose genius had inscribed their names 
in the high heraldry of immortal fame, kneeling to 
receive titles and knighthood from sovereigns, whose 
history ma} r be well written in the annunciation of 
their birth, accession and death, it is cheering to 
record the name of the illustrious and modest Watt, 
who, declining that empty distinction, preferred to be 
regarded the great machinist, the steam-king of his 
age. 

"What is noble ? that which places 
Truth in its enfranchised will, 
Leaving steps, like angel traces, 
That mankind may follow still. 
E'en though scorn's malignant glances 
Prove him poorest of his clan, 
He is noble who advances 
Science, and the cause of man." 

I rejoice that our countrymen have been called 
a nation of utilitarians. It becomes our peculiar 
position and the nature of our institutions. The ex- 
pensive luxuries, th lastles and the palaces of senile 
Europe, would be as much out of place in America, 
as the gray hairs of old age on the temples of youth. 
I am content to leave fur clothing and satin slippers 
to enfeebled bodies and goaty feet. They do not 
become the hardy possessors of a fertile country, but 
little more than three hundred years old. I do not 
underrate the literary pretensions of our historians 
or -our philosophers, living or dead. Bowditch, Pres- 



30 

cott and Bancroft, with a host of others, need no 
praise from me to confirm their titles to the high 
position which they have won. But whilst our pride 
is gratified by the distinction of our countrymen, I 
would never feel pain at purchasing the literature, 
and hiring the genius of the rest of the world. It is 
because labor can be more profitably employed, that 
it is not thus directed; a vast country, to be occu- 
pied by man, is before us ; and to complete this great 
enterprise is our destiny. The poet, the philosopher, 
the artist and the historian, are flowers which orna- 
ment the sides of this great highway of commerce, 
mechanical labor, and agricultural enterprise. They 
refresh the eye, and cheer the heart. But civilization 
cries out Onward, and labor only can respond to the 
call. You may look in vain for any rational scheme 
for this great work, in the reports of school commis- 
sioners upon the perfectibility of human nature or 
universal equality. It will be found only in honest 
labor, the source of all that gives permanent value to 
social institutions. 

A striking characteristic of the present age, and a 
part of their official education, is the tendency to 
bring all action under the power of associations. The 
effect of combined and associated effort has long been 
known, and to a certain extent is irresistible. As long 
as there is anything to act upon, which is susceptible 
of direct influence, it must be effective. When under 
the control of wise and prudent men, and directed to 
legitimate objects, the effects are valuable, and the 



31 

effort worthy of all praise. But so liable is such ac- 
tion to abuse, and so uniformly is it abused, that it 
becomes a grave question, whether more evil than 
good has not resulted from the expedient. It merges 
individual responsibility ; men vote for resolutions, pro- 
nounce denunciations, and absolutely calumniate their 
fellow men, in the proceedings of societies and con- 
ventions, who would shrink from the vulgarity, as 
well as recoil from the rudeness, of a personal applica- 
tion of the terms employed. I do not speak of the 
personal liability which would be incurred, but mere- 
ly observe that societies are not responsible, nor con- 
ventions amenable to the individuals on whom they 
have ejected their malignant slanders. They fire from 
behind the battlements, which have always protected 
those whose nerves are too weak to encounter the 
consequences of saying individually what their malice 
dictates ; whilst insincere professions of regard for 
truth and virtue, induce them to make the reports 
and resolutions of societies and conventions, the occa- 
sion of relieving their hearts of the bitterness they 
contain. This tendency to transfer individual duties 
to the action of societies is exceedingly dangerous. It 
places idlers in the lead, in the formation of public 
opinion. It is easier to lecture, than to labor ; to de- 
nounce vice, than to practise virtue ; to eulogise jus- 
tice, than to answer its demands. Noisy 5 restless, and 
often worthless men, whose chief recommendation is 
pertness, and whose most striking qualification is impu- 
dence are sent forth to illustrate the beauties of tempe- 



32 

ranee, or to enforce the great claims of humanity, en- 
dorsed by associations who become responsible for all 
they say and teach. Individual virtue, and individu- 
al duties are overlooked and forgotten ; and the coun- 
try is agitated, concerning the necessity of some great 
enterprise of doubtful practicability, and not desirable 
if practicable, whilst claims present and urgent are 
overlooked. The surface of society is agitated and 
its repose disturbed ; and moral reform is placed in the 
hands of those, who seem to forget the extent of human 
depravity, or the value of true reformation, if we may 
judge from the motives on which they rely for its 
production. The usual result is, that either insincerity 
is superadded to the views which are sought to be 
eradicated, or a temporary reformation gives place to a 
permanent and manifest deterioration in the character 
of those who have been the subjects of this influence. 
There is but one mode of effectually liberating the 
mind from error, or the heart from vice : " The 
power of truth." To live virtue is to rebuke vice. 
He who illustrates, both in action and opinion, 
the purity of a christian, and the refinement of a 
scholar, will satisfy in the best manner the claims of 
the world upon him. We are bound to aid in the 
formation of sound public opinion, and in extending 
its influence. It is not less our duty to oppose that 
opinion, when perverted by error, or unsound in prin- 
ciple. The tricksters, who seek to make merchandise 
of men's opinions and influence, have certain cabalistic 
terms which do them great service in their games. . 



When hoary error perpetuates an abuse by which 
they are benefited ; they denominate it conserva- 
tism, and denounce those who would remove it as ra- 
dicals. Does any new fanaticism or current of popu- 
lar feeling set against institutions necessary for the 
peace and quiet of society, if their interest can be 
promoted by sailing on that current, or directing that 
fanaticism, they throw themselves on it and shout — 
progress, progress ! The rights of property, the pun- 
ishment of crimes, and the institution of the Sabbath, 
have recently been compelled to defend themselves 
against the war-cry of "progress." The authority of 
laws sought to be subjected to the " higher law" of 
human conscience wages a doubtful war with pro- 
gress. There is a progress backwards, as well as for- 
wards, downwards as well as upwards. The concen- 
trated action of associations and conventions has 
incalculably increased the power of agitation ; and 
there is no evil under which the country suffers that 
is productive of greater practical nrischief. Associa- 
ted mischief-makers are doing the work of the dema- 
gogue, on a scale more extended and operating on an 
amount of popular impulses greatly exceeding that 
which any individual can compass. Their Shibboleth 
is progress and the nineteenth century; watchwords 
which assemble all who, either too indolent to main- 
tain themselves by honest labor, or under the instincts 
of a low ambition for temporary distinctions, disturb 
the peace and endanger the existence of communities. 
We hear much of the danger of demagogues. These 



34 

are they from whom the greatest mischief is to be 
feared. I warn you not to countenance such dema- 
o-oo-ues. If they are ever comparatively harmless, it 
is in the presence of the courageous friends of right, 
like serpents deprived of their fangs, overbearing to 
the unresisting or the timid, but cowering before the 
eye of honesty and truth. The aid derived from the 
press, the ready diffusion of corrupt influence and the 
almost instantaneous effect of dangerous sentiments 
upon the minds of a community, who with scarce an 
exception read, disclose an element in our progress 
well calculated to create anxiety in the minds of all 
who desire public tranquility or the preservation of 
liberty. Mere education, and nothing else, will but 
increase the evil, by increasing the mass of excitable 
materials. Human depravity has always perverted 
blessings and turned the most benign influences into 
the greatest calamities, — great, just in proportion to 
their capabilities of doing good, when moving in a li- 
gitimate direction. You will live to see this problem 
worked out. In the operation you will have your 
parts. It will be your duty to acquire influence over 
your fellow men, by all proper means, in order to be 
useful to them. But never seek that influence by 
flattering vice, or justifying wrong. That popularity 
is only valuable which arises from a just appreciation 
by our fellow men of our love for justice, our sincerity, 
and a determination to do right. Expedients wear 
out and pretences fail, but truth and justice are eter- 
nal. 



I have said nothing of the claims which the coun- 
try may have upon her citizen scholars and educated 
men, as the resource upon which she may draw for 
statesmen to direct her counsels and protect her in- 
stitutions. There is fortunately no great need for 
such a reference. The young and aspiring are suffi- 
ciently prompt to acknowledge this claim, however 
others may be forgotten. There is no scarcity of in- 
dividuals, out of whom the people may select their 
rulers, and who are entirely willing to be the subjects 
of choice. Indeed it is a source of regret, that so 
many young and inexperienced, but otherwise accom- 
plished gentlemen, seek public life, before time and 
observation have matured their opinions. And there 
is perhaps no better evidence of the power of our in- 
stitutions to withstand the elements of destruction, 
than the manner in which they have resisted the 
effects of juvenile legislation. The scholar just 
from college is less qualified for legislation than the 
practical self-educated man, with more limited literary 
attainments. He has won his way to preferment by- 
surmounting obstacles, by associations with men and 
in collisions with necessity ; he has learned firmness 
by trial, prudence by defeats, and perseverance by 
want ; he has analyzed the elements of society by ex- 
perience ; and the fact of his surviving the struggle 
with superior mental training on the part of his com- 
petitors, bespeaks the presence of high intellectual en- 
dowments. Such men are eminently practical, close 
observers, and remarkable for the accumulation of 



36 

useful knowledge. Much of life has passed in the 
training of such a man, and time has been his faithful 
and competent teacher. The young scholar, on the 
other hand, has studied books and theories, and is de^ 
ficient in experience. He can use more tools, but 
is unable to wield any of them with the skilly with 
which the other employs those which use has render- 
ed familar. 

The truth is that statesmen and speech-makers are 
indigenous, the spontaneous production of our coun- 
try. We are astonished at the labors of a convention, 
representing way-farers and emigrants, adventurers 
and foreigners, who have called a government into 
existence, in the midst of a prairie, on the banks of a 
river, or at the foot of a mountain range. Surrounded 
by deer and wolves, panthers and herds of buffaloes, 
and reconnoitred by bands of hostile savages, they as- 
semble with their arms in their hands, and form a 
constitution, the fundamental laws of a great people, 
containing more practical wisdom, better securities to 
the rights of persons and property, than all the learn- 
ed statesmen of the rest of the world, aided with the 
lore of ancient, and the experience of modern philoso- 
phers, politicians and philanthropists, have been able 
to attain. They make a government and set it tcf 
work, whilst the diplomatists of a few European. prin- 
cipalities are framing a protocol, preparatory to a ne- 
gotiation, which may end in a league of confederation; 
and which, when agreed upon, has still to be revised 
and approved by all surrounding governments. They 



37 

have no old ulcers to conceal, or to cure ; no old abuses 
to preserve ; no paper walls, which entrench privilege 
and call for more efficient ramparts to protect them 
against those who suffer therefrom. Tyranny and 
oppression derive no respectability from being hoary 
with age. The disposition prevails to overthrow theni 
the sooner, because suclTlong and insufferable trespas- 
sers. Indeed such is the general familiarity with the 
great principles of the common law, throughout our 
whole population, that there is scarcely any man of 
practical sense, who cannot sit down at his table and 
currente calamo produce a constitution, under which any 
people, indoctrinated as ours are with fixed opinions 
of civil liberty, may live, flourish, and grow great. 
Learning and education, scholars and educated men, 
perform a most valuable office in giving the capability 
a proper direction. When the educated man is also 
a practical and experienced one, his advantages over 
all competitors, who have not his attainments, are in- 
calculable. But practical utilitarian statesmen are the 
hope of the country, and the people have sufficient 
sagacity to discover those qualifications and call them 
into their service. The hour of peril will disclose 
those who are competent to the crisis, just as a com- 
pany of strangers will select their commander, in a 
moment when all must be lost without concert. There 
is an unfailing instinct upon this subject, and which 
pervades masses whenever circumstances call it in- 
to action. To be such a statesman as the country 
demands of the citizen-scholar, he must to learning- 



38 

add practical wisdom, high purposes of justice, un- 
wavering adherence to honest principles, the courage 
to rebuke popular error, throw himself in front of 
popular prejudice, and encounter all its assaults, rath- 
er than sacrifice truth or surrender the right ; a firm- 
ness which far exceeds the courage that sustains the 
soldier in the noise, the clamor and the fury of battle; 
he is buoyed up by excitement, and fall or triumph, 
he wins his meed of glory. The statesman who is 
compelled to oppose the policy of the dominant party, 
to rebuke his countrymen for wrong and injustice, 
must look coolly and calmly upon the withdrawal of 
confidence, the loss of fame, and the ability to do 
good, until time shall disclose the depth of his sagaci- 
ty, and the purity of his motives. It required much 
more courage to encounter the ostracism of his coun- 
trymen by Aristides, than the perils of Thermopylae 
by Leonidas. The statesman who looks much beyond 
the rewards of an approving conscience, and the lega- 
cy of a good name to his family, has not considered 
maturely the mutations in public opinion. He who 
seeks public life merely for its emoluments or rewards, 
manifests the avidity of the gambler, without the 
trickery and skill necessary for success. They seek 
for wealth where, we are thankful, our economical an- 
cestors determined it should not be found, and for re- 
wards to labor in a field far inferior to any that agri- 
cultural, mechanical, or professional enterprise pre- 
sents. It is honorable to serve the country well, 
whether in public or in private life. No man should 



39 

refuse the call of his fellow-citizens to serve them, un- 
less considerations of the highest kind should prevent. 
Neither should he desire to continue in their service 
an v longer, than he is satisfied that he can do so with 
a conscience sustaining him in the convictions that 
truth, justice, and the public welfare are his only mo- 
tives. The man at peace with himself, should trem- 
ble at no external commotion. 

The habits of collegiate life give direction to the 
mind, and control the current of thought. The schol- 
ar just from his books feels that the contemplation of 
abstract propositions, and purely scientific principles, 
have made him something of a stranger to the real 
business of life. It is on this account, that some avoid 
the collisions which social institutions generate, retire 
from active association with the masses, and cultivate 
literature as a luxurious recreation rather than a du- 
ty. That intellectual pleasures are both refined and 
fascinating cannot be denied, but it is equally true 
that they are greatly enlarged by sharing them with 
others, to say nothing of the obvious duty of contri- 
buting to the improvement of our fellow men. The 
attainments which are reached in the course of colle- 
giate education, are only the beginning of the great 
work of mental discipline. If the scholar has learned 
the powers of his own mind, and how to concentrate 
them on any subject, he has made a large and valua- 
ble acquisition. To array and combine our thoughts 
with accuracy and ease, is the great end of mental 
training. It is not the reading of many books. It is 



40 

not seclusion and study alone, which constitutes the 
ripe scholar, the practical man. A writer of much 
celebrity for wisdom has long ago remarked, that " of 
making many books there is no end, and much study 
is a weariness to the flesh." The same is true of 
reading the books when made, and much, very much, 
of the study which consumes health and time is a 
mere unprofitable weariness. The habit of much and 
promiscuous reading is a bad one. Thoughts and 
ideas pass across the mind, and leave it unimpressed and 
unimproved ; like the desert over which the caravan 
passes, laden with jewels and wealth, it leaves it a de- 
sert still. But there is this difference, the desert road 
leads to the desired mart, the caravan may profitably 
pass and return. Not so with one who reads from habit, 
and without digesting what is read. Rich thoughts 
and brilliant ideas flit across his mind but leave no trace 
of their passage, neither increasing his own intellectual 
wealth, nor enabling him to contribute to that of others. 
This is the error of some, while others conceive that the 
collection of libraries is a very indispensable portion of 
the duties of an educated man. A good library is a 
most valuable acquisition, a good thing. But there is 
much of literary foppery in connection with this sub- 
ject- It is not often that the collector of books reads 
the books which he collects ; he is useful in his. way 
however, as the freight-train laden with merchandise 
is drawn by the engine to the market where the de- 
mand for it is to be supplied. Others may read some 
of the books and be profited. It is not the man of 



41 

many books and wearisome study of whom you should 
be afraid, in intellectual competition ; but I will tell 
you who is always formidable, the man who reads a 
few good books and reads them well, who relies much 
upon the conclusions of his own mind, and thinks for 
himself. Read books, but study men. Read books, 
but study nature. Read books, but study your own 
heart and mind ; and you will acquire all that is use- 
ful and valuable, you will find a profitable employ- 
ment for all that you may learn. 

I have thus, gentlemen, made some remarks on your 
duties as citizen-scholars, and educated men ; the 
subject is copious, and all that I proposed was an 
allusion to some of the prominent claims of the world 
upon all who have enjoyed the facilities of mental 
cultivation. Permit me to add that mental without 
moral culture is a great calamity, both to the indivi- 
dual and to society. Learning, or knowledge, in the 
possession of a wicked and unscrupulous man, is a sword 
in the hands of a maniac, the means of destruction 
in the possession of one reckless of the mischief he may 
perpetrate. Should you return to this place, after an 
absence as long continued as my own, you will be 
deeply impressed with this truth ; you will have 
seen the extended ruin which corrupt and wicked 
talent and learning has effected ; you will perhaps be 
constrained to drop a tear over the melancholy histo- 
ry of some, whose early promise gave tokens of much 
good. Thirty-two years ago, I passed from the con- 
trol of the faculty of this venerable institution, into 



42 

life. Many and varied have been the scenes through 
which my path has led me ; and many of the feelings 
of that day, though long since fled, return and cluster 
about my heart. I remember faces beaming with 
hope, and bright with genius, minds rich in learning, 
and hearts kind and generous ; but to remember is to 
mourn. The lessons of self-denial and self-control 
were never learned, and early promises were not 
fulfilled. If you would ascend in your progress, draw 
your motives from the skies. Our race is peculiar in 
this, it is endowed with reason, a faculty by which 
the unknown is discovered and revealed by combina- 
tions of things which are known. It would not be 
reverential to attribute reason to our Maker, because 
it would suppose that there are things unknown 
to him. But he has created orders of intelligent 
beings, who are doubtless greatly the superiors of man 
in the perception of truth, but who, if not the subjects 
of progress, must ultimately be greatly his inferiors. 
The powers of reason increase and expand, and with 
it our capacity of enjoyment, as well as our intellec- 
tual dignity. If reason receive its illumination from 
heaven, the light will draw us there, and education 
on earth will be only a pupilage for the skies. The 
christian scholar is prepared for the humble as well as 
the higher employments of life, and is always ready 
for the calls of duty. Each moment has its claims 
upon his best and noblest powers, and to recognise 
and satisfy them is his highest enjoyment. H' 
devotes his life to the greatest of all enterprises, th ' 



43 

promotion of the good of his race, and lays down 
that life without a murmur, when he has notice that 
his work is done. Years have passed away since, a 
few hours before my departure from this place, I wit- 
nessed a striking illustration of this remark in the 
death of such a christian scholar. I stood by the 
bedside, and saw the last moments, of the venerable 
Samuel Stanhope Smith, who yielded to the stroke 
of death, full of years and honors. Bound to him by 
ties of hereditary affection, I called to take my leave, 
and saw him quietly passing away, the tide of life 
slowly but gently ebbing ; conscious of his approach- 
ing end, but calm and composed ; preserving the 
affability of the gentleman, the refinement of the 
scholar, and the dignity of the christian, in circum- 
stances which threw a lustre over each. With kind 
courtesy, he said : " Farewell, my young friend ; may 
many useful happy years be yours ! remember that 
your time and your talents belong to God and your 
country. You have come in time to see the end of many 
days, and the close of all my sorrows. Say to my 
friends, your parents, I shall reach heaven before 
them." I looked upon his fine features, becoming 
rigid in death, but brightened by genius, like the 
radiance of the wintry sunbeam, flashing against an 
icicle, which it may irradiate for a moment but cannot 
melt. I saw the last moments of one, who was iden- 
tified with the earliest efforts to secure classical learn- 
ing to the land of my birth; whose name was 
associated with all that was elevated and pure ; under 



44 

whose influence and by whose agency, this college 
rose like a phenix from its own ashes. 

Nor can I forget the distinguished gentlemen, who 
presided over this institution, whilst I was a student. 
In singleness of heart, purity of motive, and firmness 
of purpose, combined with all that was necessary to 
qualify him for the station which he filled, Dr. Ashbel 
Green had no superior. To know him intimatety, 
was to love and to venerate him ; and it was refresh- 
ing to meet with him, and perceive the overflowing of 
his kind heart towards his former pupils, years 
after he had retired from the government of the 
college. 

In looking around me, I perceive but a single indi- 
vidual who was one of the faculty in 1819, and still 
continues that relation to my venerable Alma Mater. 
In him, I recognise a valued friend, who will excuse 
this reference to former days, because it calls up a 
friendship of early date, and which has grown with 
an esteem that his usefulness has fixed in the minds 
of all who can appreciate worth. 

My connection with this institution was one of 
uninterrupted pleasure, and I trust that I may be 
excused for this reference to its details. I should be 
insensible to the feelings common to our nature, if I 
should fail to remember the friends and the benefac- 
tors of my youth ; it would be strange, indeed, if I 
refused to taste the cup of joy, which memory now 
presses to my lips. Youth with those of my years is 
a matter of historical recollection, and I confess the 



45 

pleasure which the diorama of its scenes communi- 
cates. I see around me some who were young when 
I was young, and parties to the incidents which 
interested us all. There is a feeling awakened by 
such reunions which tell of mirthfulness unrestrained 
by care, the overflowings of guileless hearts, of times 
and scenes which haunt us through life, and in the 
passage of fleeting years, linger on the memory like 
" the notes of some wild melody." We condense the 
experience of years which have passed since we 
mingled in the academic throng. We remember the 
feelings and the impulses which gave activity to our 
energies then, and since, and now ; and the landscape 
of life presents all the varied lights of morning, noon 
and evening. Each congenial to the time of life, each 
becoming in its season, and each instructive in its 
progress. All of us rejoiced in youth. We remember 
that then " joy waved over us his sun-woven wing," 
and the grave pursuits of mature years have deprived 
us of none of the zest with which we catch the 
fragrance of the zephyr that flies over the flowers of 
youth, increasing their beauty, whilst it but gentry 
agitates their surface. We have seen its genial 
influences cause a smile to steal over the brow of 
care, and gild even the face of age with an auroral 
light. 

It is not my purpose to undervalue the joys or 
the pursuits of the young or to cloud their pros- 
pects by raven croakings of future disappoint- 
ments. Far from it : 



v %:. 



46 

" For youth no less becomes 
The light and careless livery that it wears, 
Than settled age his sables and his weeds, 
Importing health and graveness." 

There are none of us but have been often refreshed 
by turning back in the path of life to catch the sun- 
light of our early days. Those rays now give me 
light, and have presented before me some of the 
visions I have so imperfectly revealed, some of those 
hopes which I then, and now, and shall ever cherish ; 
and the associations of this hour will leave a fragrance 
which " shall breathe of it many a year." A return 
to these scenes, the presence of the distinguished 
societies to which you belong, the competitions high 
and honorable, which they have always produced, 
and the useful results which have been realized by 
our great confederacy, through the instrumentalities 
here, cannot fail to call up peculiar emotions in the 
bosom of one who, for the first time for thirty-two 
years, witnesses the ceremonial of your commencement. 
I congratulate the country upon the continuation of 
the renown of this seat of learning. I congratulate 
you upon the prosperity of your societies, which 
cradled in the revolution have given to the country 
a bright succession of learned and patriotic citizens, 
whose names and characters shall adorn its history. 
May they long continue to prosper, and although my 
heart may warm peculiarly to the touch of my own 
clan colors, I know you will excuse the weakness if 
it be one, when I assure you that I have ever regarded 
the training acquired in the American Whig and 



47 

Cliosophic societies as equal in importance, to any 
advantage of education enjoyed here. In the language 
of the venerable Smith — " May many happy and 
useful years be yours, remember that your time and 
talents belong to God and your country." Let your 
lives be marked by a patriotic devotion to that coun- 
try, in preserving the principles of the constitution, 
doing justice, preventing wrong and defending the 
right. Let no temporary advantage, no hope of 
individual advancement, pervert your judgment, or 
control your action ; for " time overthrows the 
speculations of men, and confirms the judgments of 
Truth." 



